St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Travels to Providence to Play the Friars
4/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Game Notes
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QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team (18-24, 7-5 BIG EAST) returns to BIG EAST action this weekend when the squad travels to Providence, R.I., for a three-game series against the Friars (11-27, 5-9 BIG EAST).
The Red Storm begins play with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon before the two programs close out the series on Sunday in a noon contest.
Coming off of a 4-3 loss to Manhattan College on Thursday, the Johnnies look to jump back in the win column this weekend against the Friars.
Despite the loss to the Jaspers, Gretchen Bowie continued to excel on the season. The sophomore belted a three-run homer against Manhattan to account for all three St. John's runs. Bowie's home run marked the teams 46th on the 2018 campaign, to break the the program's single season record of 45 home runs.
During BIG EAST play the Johnnies have won three of their four series showdowns to maintain a 7-5 record in the conference. Offensively, St. John's paces the league in several statistical categories including batting average, with a .318 clip. The Red Storm also leads the conference in hits (114), runs scored (76) and home runs (15) during BIG EAST games.
In the circle, McKenzie Murray has stepped up her game over conference play, going 4-0 in 10 appearances. The senior pitcher's four victories rank her second in the conference for wins. During her most recent outing with DePaul, the Longmont, Colo., native went 1-0, recording a 1.31 ERA after allowing just three earned runs over 16 innings of work.
Just one home run shy of breaking the single season record of 16, Krystal Puga continues to dominate offensively. The senior is posting a .431 batting average for the best in the league. The Los Angeles native also tops the conference in homers with 16, along with RBIs (38) and runs scored (42).
The two programs enter their 87th all-time contest on Saturday with the Johnnies holding a 48-38 advantage. St. John's swept the most recent series between the longtime rivals last season when the Johnnies outscored the Friars 34-10 over three games.
Providence also has coaching ties with St. John's as current head coach Amy Kvilhaug played for the Friars from 1993-96 where she earned the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors as well as second team All-New England and Eastern Conference Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament MVP honors as a freshman before leading the Friars to the BIG EAST Championship in 1994 and the ECAC Championship in 1995. Most recently Kvilhaug was inducted into the 2016 Athletics Hall of Fame.
Following the weekend series, the Johnnies will return home to Red Storm Field where they will host Fordham in a midweek matchup on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
